


Death of the Light

by AshWinterGray



Series: Earth 132 [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Gotham Academy (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Abduction, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Attempted Murder, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Fear, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Miscommunication, Murder, Nicknames, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Protective Batfamily, Rescue Missions, good brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27238912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: Bruce and Selina both knew there was a risk with keeping the baby. But after much debate, they agreed to keep the baby anyways. They could protect themselves, each other, and the baby. They just...weren't expecting Bruce to be unavailable when the time came. Nor were they expecting the League of Assassins to take such an interest.
Relationships: Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Diana (Wonder Woman)/Steve Trevor, Dick Grayson & Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd & Tim Drake & Duke Thomas & Damian Wayne & Helena Wayne, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Series: Earth 132 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956985
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Birth of a Light

Selina Kyle was already weak as the liquid was forced down her throat by the doctors around her. Her gaze shifted to where the child where a devil’s mask stood, clutching her new born daughter. Selina had half a mind to claw the child’s eyes out. But the poison was quick to act.

“Do not leave until she is dead,” the child spoke, stupid voice simulator making it difficult to tell who was under the mask. “That’s an order.”

“Yes, my lady,” one of the doctor’s mistakenly said.

The child was gone the next minute, however, and Selina found herself gagging, unable to growl out any more insults. She had already been forced into an early labor, and given that her baby hadn’t cried once, Selina feared her baby girl was already dead.

If she had the strength, she would have made these fools pay for messing with her baby. She didn’t have that option now. All she could do was hope that Bruce would come. And even if he couldn’t save her, she hoped and prayed that he would save their daughter. Their precious baby girl.

This entire plan had been played out to the letter. Bruce was trapped in a Gala where the news of her labor wouldn’t be deemed important information unless Alfred was the one to receive it. The “doctors” had made sure it wasn’t Alfred who received the news. The rest of the family was scattered, and though Selina had feared she was being stalked, she hadn’t told Bruce. Her mistake. She thought she could handle it.

And now she would die because of her own selfishness. She hoped her daughter could forgive her for her foolishness.

“Hel-ena,” Selina managed to croak out through the blood in her mouth. “Hel-ena.”

She could feel her vision getting fuzzy more than she could see it. She had worked to hard to hone her skills to be put off by fuzzy vision. She was a cat at heart, and that was enough for her to keep fighting the poison even as it killed her.

So when the window shattered, Selina was still aware enough to hear it. She could hear as the “doctors” panicked and thrashed about. She could hear the re-enforcements that came to strike, and she knew that there were still vigilantes entering the room. But she didn’t quite black out until a needle was inserted into her neck.

She supposed this was her punishment for the life she had chosen to lead.

“Hel-ena.”

\-----------------------------------

_Last night around 10:30, Selina Kyle, ex-fiancée of Bruce Wayne, and mother of his unborn child, was attacked while in early Labor at Gotham General. We regret to say that Ms. Kyle was indeed murdered and the baby was stolen despite the best efforts of Gotham’s vigilantes. The Wayne’s have yet to make a statement on the matter, but the Police have asked anyone who has any information to contact authorities-_

Alfred turned off the television, not that any of the people who had been watching were complaining. Summer Gleeson had put out the statement shortly after Vicki Vale arrived for said statement. Five minutes into her arrival, she phoned the studio to go ahead and place the announcement. Now she was there simply as a friend.

From what she understood, when the call had gone through to the Gala about Selina being in early labor, it had been requested that the call _not_ be given to Alfred Pennyworth. However, Tamara Fox, ex-fiancée of Tim Drake had received the call and immediately gone to Tim and Bruce. From there, Bruce had begged the heroes for help, and several of Gotham’s vigilantes had arrived at the scene, but it was too late. The baby was gone, and Selina Kyle was dead. Several friends of Bruce Wayne had dropped what they were doing to come here in support of their friend. The first to arrive were Clark Kent and Lois Lane, with their son Jon. They had arrived just before Vicki Vale. Since then, Diana Prince had arrived, as well as Oliver Queen with his wife, Dinah Lance, and their children.

The one thing Vicki couldn’t understand was where was Jason Todd? Surely he would be here.

“He’s blowing off steam,” Stephanie Brown, current girlfriend of Tim Drake, informed her when she asked. “Jason is…this hit home for him, you know?”

Vicki didn’t dare bring it up after that.

Steph, however, was mentally cheering for herself for coming up with that excuse, and instantly sent a message to the group chat about the cover story she had implied to Vicki. The truth was, Jason and Helena had gone undercover, and not even Babs was sure where they were. Just that they were “following a lead” though on what, no one was sure. They hadn’t been able to contact Jason since he went dark with Helena.

The rest of the family easily adapted her cover story.

\-------------------------------

“So you were ten?”

“Now really isn’t the time, Maps,” Kyle scolded his sister.

Jon just gave a sheepish grin anyways. Upon the news, the Pizza Club had instantly gotten permission to head to Wayne Manor to comfort their friend. They were currently gathered in Damian’s bedroom, and they were all meeting Jon for the first time. Poor guy didn’t quite fit in anymore.

“Can we please focus on finding my sister,” Damian huffed. “I’ve gone over the security feed several times, but not even _Dr-_ I mean Timothy was able to find anything.”

“Did you just call your brother by his first name?” Jon questioned, grinning like an idiot.

Damian just glared.

“As entertaining as this is,” Leta grumbled, eyes pinched shut, “finding people isn’t exactly easy, even with my skills as a hunter and a sorceress. So quiet would be appreciated.”

“Sorry, Leta,” came the chorus as the group grew quiet.

It was no secret among the Pizza Club and Jon that Damian had been looking forward to being a big brother. In fact, Damian had been ecstatic when Selina Kyle approached him about the pregnancy and asked Damian to be the baby’s brother. Leta was doing her best to ignore his fidgeting as he waited, but it was proving to be distracting.

Thankfully, Jon seemed to notice this.

“Dami, let’s go see Goliath, okay?” Jon motioned.

Damian looked like he wanted to protest, but a glance at Leta and he caved. He knew he was being a distraction, and his pets would definitely help calm him. Selina had promised he’d be able to hold his baby siblings. Helena. Selina had said Helena. The baby was a girl, then.

Upon entering the cave, Damian’s gaze shifted to the medbay where both Alfred and Dr. Thompkins were bustling about. It looked more like busy work than actual worry, and Damian let himself curl up in Goliath’s fur as he watched them work.

It was the League. Damian knew that. It was why his antidote had worked on Selina, why she was still alive, despite the public’s knowledge. They weren’t sure what they would do when Selina woke up, but it was best to wait till after she woke to make that decision. As for the League, Dra-Tim was working with the Young Justice, Titans, and Young Justice to find their sister.

Tim was working from his bedroom, much like Damian had been with his friends. Unfortunately, Kon, Cassie, and Bart would have drawn attention to themselves, so they were in Tim’s room, using Kon’s super hearing to try and find something. However, Beast Boy was doing his best to comb the streets of Gotham, while Raven used her magic to search much like Leta was. However, where Leta could directly find a person, Raven banked more on emotions.

Add that to Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe manning Clock Tower, and Barbara Gordon using the Batcave, the group had a wide rang to search. Assuming Helena was still in Gotham.

Damian buried his face further into Goliath’s fur as Jon sat beside him. Even aged up, Jon was still his best friend, though the Pizza Club came close. Unlike his other “friends” Jon and the Pizza Club had accepted him and his flaws, and they were teaching him to become better. He was _trying_. Especially for Helena.

“I feel so helpless,” Damian admitted to his best friend.

“I know, Dami. I know.”

\-------------------------------

“This isn’t your fault.”

Bruce said nothing as Clark placed a hand on his shoulder. Diana was crouched in front of him, gripping his hands, willing him to believe her words on sheer force of will. He doubted he would ever believe those words. Selina Kyle, possibly the love of his life, was half-dead downstairs, and his daughter was currently in the hands of the League of Assassins.

And they couldn’t find her.

“What happened between you and Steve Trevor?”

Diana honestly looked like she would have slapped him right then and there. But as he lifted his head, unable to explain in words, he tried to convey in actions. He gave her hands a desperate squeeze back, locked eyes with her, and let his face show emotion. Or…what he hoped was emotion. He wasn’t very good with emotions.

Diana huffed out in annoyance, message clearly received.

“While I find your meddling bothersome, we had a disagreement,” Diana stated firmly. “He wasn’t fond that I went to the Oracle about our daughter, and he believes I intend to lock her away on Themyscira to make her a warrior.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Oliver questioned, getting a smack from Dinah.

“While I do love to fight, and I love my own upbringing, I have always desired a family of my own,” Diana admitted. “I had hoped my pregnancy would prove that to Steve, but he deemed my approach to the Oracle as a betrayal and a sign I wasn’t serious.”

“Jason wasn’t too happy about the Oracle either.”

Diana’s face screwed. “That was because the prophecy given to Artemis wasn’t a kind one. At least, as it pertained to Artemis. She forbid me from mentioning the rest of what the Oracle claimed about their daughters, though I am not sure if it was for her sake or his.”

“There’s more?” Bruce gaped.

“Yes. Artemis will tell Jason in her own time,” Diana hummed. “As of now, however, I made a promise not to say much else. It wasn’t time then, and it isn’t time now. But I will tell you this…”

Bruce locked eyes with Diana, imploring her to continue with his gaze alone.

“If I am right, Helena is part of this prophecy.”

Bruce felt his breathing hitch. That could mean anything, really, and the possibilities were flying through Bruce’s mind. However, he knew Diana would not have told him this if she believed Helena’s role was bad. But given that Bruce knew there was a second Helena…that didn’t bring as much comfort as she seemed to think it would.

Before Bruce could say anything else, Pomeline Fritch and Maps Mizoguchi threw open the door.

“We found her,” Pomeline breathed. “Leta found her.”

“But she’s moving!” Maps shrieked. “Leta can’t keep tracking her like that!”

The group instantly scrambled. Later, Alfred with thank the stars above that Vicki Vale had left just before the heroes all began to scramble towards the Batcave to suit up. Then he would thank those same stars that Babs still had her head on straight and vetoed sending all the heroes out at once due to the sheer absurdity of having several heroes in Gotham. The whole rescue might have been a mess otherwise.

\---------------------------

“She’s a quiet little one.”

Helena glanced over to the baby with a grin on her face. In the back of the truck were several League of Assassin members Jason and Helena had been stalking for weeks. They had planned to wait at least one more week before they struck, but when the child in charge came back with a baby, the two decided to act. So, while Helena drove the truck, Jason was feeding the poor little baby girl they had rescued from the League. They would drop most of the League off with a trusted alley who would _handle_ the situation, but the child who was in charge was staying with them.

“We should give her a name.”

“We can’t give her a name!” Helena protested. “Then we’ll get attached! What if she still has family?”

“Do you really think the League would have kept her family alive?”

Helena paused. “Point. But we’re not naming her until we know for sure what happened to her family.”

“We can’t just keep calling her ‘the baby’, Hel,” Jason protested. “She needs a name. Or a nickname.”

“Fine. We’ll call her Kitten.”

“We can’t just call her Kitten! That’s the name of that weird girl who tried to make Dick go to prom with her!”

“It was my nickname too!”

Now it was Jason’s turn to pause. “We can call her Kitten.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Kitten, as she was now dubbed by the vigilante duo, giggled up at them with a beautiful smile. Now if only Jason could figure out why she looked familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have writers block! Yay!
> 
> *sobs*
> 
> The good news is I have up to book eight written...
> 
> The bad news is book nine and book eight are linked and I can't post book eight until I'm positive there are not plot holes. I'm sure you can see the problem. So after this book, I'm going to wait on book seven till I know my thoughts are back on track, and we'll go from there.


	2. Battle of the Light

“I’m fairly certain Ma Gunn is a Crime Lord,” Helena whispered to Jason. “So why, exactly, are we taking Assassins to her doorstep?”

“She’s my grandmother.”

Kitten was fast asleep in Jason’s arms. Fed, burped, and given a diaper change, Jason couldn’t help at marvel at the small baby in his arms. He wondered if his baby sibling was going to be this tiny. What of his own daughters? Would they be this small?

“Do you think she was born premature?”

“It’s possible,” Helena hummed.

Helena, on the other hand, felt something off with the baby. Sort of like…a connection. Like her connection with Damian. Which was alarming in and of itself because this world’s Selina Kyle wasn’t supposed to be born for another couple months. Then again, Kitten was unnaturally small for the average baby. That worried Helena.

The other problem was, that if this was Selina’s daughter, how was she going to tell Jason?

_“Oh, by the way, this is probably your baby sister! How do I know? Well, she looks just like me, doesn’t she? Oh, right, I’m actually from another Earth where Batman and Catwoman are my biological parents and Damian knows this. Sorry I didn’t tell you.”_

Yeah, that would go over well. Most definitely.

Still, her thoughts drifted to Selina. If Kitten was in fact her daughter, and she was born prematurely, then the League of Assassins must have done something to cause a premature birth. They’d need to get Kitten proper medical and quick. As for Selina, Helena was definitely worried about what the League had done to her. Maybe Ma Gunn would let her do some digging.

“She looks like Damian,” Helena finally decided on.

“Yeah,” Jason nodded, brow furrowed. “She does.”

“She’ll need a doctor,” Helena pressed.

“I know. I’ll take the kid once Ma Gunn has the rest of the Assassins secured. You take care of Kitten. Dr. Thompkins might be able to help her, and she’ll definitely be able to tell if Kitten is who we think she is.”

Helena nodded as the truck pulled to a stop in Ma Gunn’s warehouse. The woman herself was there to greet, Faye Gunn by her side. Ma Gunn looked mildly amused as Jason pulled out of the truck with a baby.

“Hey, Ma,” Jason greeted. “Faye.”

“You and your bleeding heart,” Ma shook her head. “Come. My boys will handle the assassins. I’ll get you a car to take the poor baby to the Clinic. You and I need to have a chat, Jason.”

Jason shrugged sheepishly at Helena, waving the other girl off, as he began to follow Ma Gunn away. Faye stayed behind, her bright smile becoming a frown.

“Don’t tell Bats,” Faye said, keeping her voice low. “But Jason came to Ma Gunn a few months ago with a plan to help convert Crime Alley into something better. She’ll be head over the projects for a bit, but they haven’t really had the chance to discuss anything since Jason came back to life. We’d appreciate it if you kept it on the down-low.”

Helena grinned. She had seen some of Jason’s plans, and he had even talked to her about some of them.

“Believe me, Faye, if the Bats don’t need to know anything, I can keep a secret. Batgirl taught me well.”

Faye’s grin was almost shark like this time.

\------------------------------

Let it be known that Barbara Gordon was a beast. Really and truly. After all, she forced Batman to stay behind while his partners went out to find the man’s daughter. The teams were comprised of familiar faces around Gotham. While it might have been easier to send Superman or Superboy, all of Gotham knew that Batman hated metas and aliens in his city, so sending them was out.

Leta lost the connection to baby Helena, but they had a rough idea of what direction the kidnappers were headed. A team consisting of Signal, Spoiler, and Orphan was headed towards the last known location Leta had managed to find. From there, Tim, Barbara, and Maps were all utilizing the cameras and Maps to try and narrow down the path their kidnapper was taking. Black Canary, Batwoman, and Nightwing were all spotted combing the streets and alleys of Gotham, and a few people were kind enough to give the vigilantes information.

Meanwhile, Pomeline, Colton, Kyle, Tristan, Katherine, Olive, and Damian had all taken to the streets in search of any information civilians would be more likely to give another civilian. It wasn’t much more than they were already getting, but it was a start.

Along with the two vigilante run teams, Duke had called in a favor with Isabella Ortez and Riko Sheridan. The two girls were temporarily calling upon the old members of the We Are Robin Movement to try and find the missing Wayne heir.

With their teams, all of Gotham was being covered, and Charlie was keeping a close eye on all things social media.

“I believe she is moving again,” Raven voiced into the cave, pulling everyone’s attention to her. “If I have the right baby, of course, but it is hard to tell with her sleeping, and I haven’t met her before.”

“Can you pinpoint a location?” Tim looked to his teammate.

“Roughly,” Raven reached forward to press a finger to Maps’ map. “Roughly here.”

Maps frowned. “But that’s on the edge of Crime Alley and the Bowery,” she whispered. “Why would they go there?”

“Talia, perhaps,” Jon offered, getting glances from everyone. “She did run Leviathan right across from that old Theatre, didn’t she?”

“True,” Tim agreed. “But that’s further into Gotham, and my associate recently confirmed that Talia is in Khadym again, just as Damian claimed. She’s been making frequent trips there. It’s believed she’s managed to find another Lazarus Pit, but only those she trusts manage to get close enough to see for certain.”

Bruce, who had been benched on Babs’ orders, narrowed his eyes at that statement. Talia had approved of Selina, basically a promise that the woman would be unharmed. If Talia was in fact in Khadym to use a Lazarus Pit, it would be a sign that Talia and Ra’s had a disagreement. Had Talia known about her father’s plan?

“So where would they be heading?” Diana voiced for the group.

“The original location they went to was in the Bowery,” Maps pointed to the first location on her map, which means that they came from Gotham General and went through East End to get there. What _doesn’t_ make sense is why they would stop just above the Bowery. It would make more sense to go to Robbinsville as it’s closer to the docs. Maybe if they were trying to throw us off their sent, but that seems like a rookie move.”

It was a rookie movie. Especially with so many eyes watching. Was someone else using the League?

The only thing Bruce wanted to do was go out and find his daughter, but even Alfred had put his foot down. To keep himself distracted, Bruce had attempted several times to contact both Helena and Jason to no avail. Bruce cursed himself for being to occupied to track them, and for agreeing to leave them alone.

Jason knew Gotham like the back of his hand, and he knew the League just as well. He would have some idea of where to look, of where the best places to hide a baby would be.

\------------------------

“Empty,” Cass stated. “But not cleaned.”

Duke and Steph both exchanged glances as they lowered themselves into the warehouse the League of Assassins had placed Helena in. It was…an unusual sight for the League. The warehouse was completely empty of all people, and yet there was supplies and other things scattered about. Perhaps they had been cleaning up but ultimately opted to ditch their supplies. But given past dealings, that made no sense.

“Whatever this is, be prepared,” Steph hissed. “Something here doesn’t feel right.”

That was slightly alarming. Stephanie had ridiculously sharp instincts. It was rare that her intuitions ever be wrong.

“Bad or…off?” Cass questioned her best friend.

“Off. Definitely off,” Steph nodded, already fiddling with her mask. Probably to take pictures of the scene. “Like something is out of place, maybe?”

Duke saw it first, his breath hitching as he noticed blood near the table. He walked too it quickly, but Steph’s camera lens had already picked up another splatter of blood. Cass, herself, found three splatters.

The three exchanged glances.

“Spoiler to BG,” Steph’s voice shook. “We’ll be sending you several blood samples for analysis.”

There was a pause.

_“Blood samples?”_

“Several,” Cass voiced back.

“Yeah, something weird happened here, BG,” Duke picked up for the girls. “It’s almost like there was a fight here. And I’m not sure the League saw it coming.”

Another pause.

_“Are you saying there is a chance that the League no longer has Helena?”_

The three exchanged glances.

“Possibly,” Steph drawled out.

Duke knew that wasn’t very reassuring. But he wasn’t very reassured either.

“Give me a sec, BG,” Duke stated into the comm. “I’ll see what my powers bring up.”

\----------------------------------------

“You think this is the missing Helena Wayne,” Dr. Thompkins studied Huntress.

“You’d be the woman to know,” Huntress shrugged. “Though I didn’t even know the Waynes were missing their daughter. Red Hood and I have been undercover on radio silence for a couple weeks now.”

“Then you’ll need to catch up,” Dr. Thompkins huffed. “There are vigilantes running around in broad daylight over this debacle.”

Huntress blinked. That was…not good. Man, she really needed to call Babs before somebody did something stupid. Or stupid- _er_ knowing the Bats. She was honestly surprised the Bats hadn’t called in Superman or Wonder Woman yet.

Oh. Ra’s was good. Really good. That was what the man probably wanted. He just hadn’t anticipated Red Hood and Huntress dropping in on his little heist. Which meant the kid Jason had to be interrogating was definitely Mara, his lap dog of a granddaughter.

_Great. One more thing to deal with._

“There’s a tablet in my office,” Dr. Thompkins waved her to the room. “I’ll check her DNA, and we’ll see. But beyond that, I won’t get involved with the League of Assassins.”

“I don’t intend to let you,” Helena nodded her thanks.

Now to see what on Earth had been going on while she and Jason were gone.

\-----------------------

“So the truck went here?” Olive questioned.

“That’s what the witnesses said,” Kyle nodded back.

They were just barely out of sight, as confirmed by Babs, and Kyle had already put Beast Boy in his breast pocket, the little green mouse, having previously been a dog, confirming the sent of fresh truck exhaust fumes and tire tracks to match. They were in a seedier part of Crime Alley, bordering the Bowery, and they were awaiting the arrival of Nightwing. Or should they say; Dick Grayson.

“This is Faye Gunn’s bar,” Olive whispered. “The granddaughter of Ma Gunn. My mother used to know Ma Gunn, back when she was a teacher running illegal trade and training boys to be soldiers.”

“She had two sons, right?” Kyle asked back, getting a confused glance from Olive. “The first son took Ma Gunn’s last name. Sam, I thin was his name. Or something like that, and the second one took his dad’s last name, and completely left his mom for some girl, or something. Will? Willie? I don’t remember. I was originally supposed to go to her school until Batman found her out.”

“You dodged a bullet there,” Dick put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder, making the two teens jump and Beast Boy squeak. “Jason attend the school for, like, a week or two before he discovered what Ma Gunn was doing.”

“I take it Jason was the one to tell Batman?” Gar asked, recovering from the scare of Dick Grayson’s stealth.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about?” Dick shot an innocent smile to his long-time friend. “Let’s go in, shall we?”

“We’re underage,” Kyle pointed out.

“That’s what credit cards are for,” Dick grinned back.

Kyle and Olive exchanged glances as Beast Boy snickered in Kyle’s pocket. It was clear that Dick was currently the bad influence in the family. Which was weird, because Jason or Tim seemed more likely to be the troublemaker. Not Dick.

Then again, looks could be deceiving.

“Shall we,” Dick gave a mock bow.

“I guess,” Olive shrugged. “But what’s our cover story.”

“Easy, you’re my sister, and I’m here to monitor your date,” Dick grinned.

Olive frowned at that, while their skin color was relatively the same, Dick and Olive looked nothing alive. Dick was…Romani…if Olive remembered correctly, and Olive most certainly wasn’t. She had some mixed blood here and there, but she and Pomeline were definitely American, and pure bread Gothamites. Maybe Dick was banking on adoption?

The credit card and cover story proved to be unnecessary as the three walked into the bar. No one spared them a glance as Kyle and Olive took a booth, and Dick took a table nearby. In fact, no one approached them at first. They were there for a good thirty minutes of so before someone came to greet them.

And it wasn’t who they expected.

“Mr. Wayne,” Kyle greeted, trying to keep his cool as their guest joined them.

“Yeah, let’s agree not to call me that,” Jason waved off, locking eyes with Dick. “So, what brings you kids to _my_ neck of the woods.”

Dick slid into the booth beside Kyle, Jason having already joined Olive.

“I swear we’re not here to mess with you gig,” Dick promised.

Jason gave his brother a deadpan look.

“Selina was attacked,” Dick stated under his breath. “She gave birth prematurely. The League of Assassins was involved. We’re trying to find our sister.”

Jason cursed in Spanish. “Helena was right. Dang it.”

“You found her?” Olive breathed.

“Huntress and I noticed a few odd League members in Gotham,” Jason huffed. “They were looking for something, and we decided to go undercover. I knew Talia wasn’t involved because she’s in Khadym, but Ra’s doesn’t just let his assassins run around like headless chickens. Last night, some kid finally showed up in their base with a baby. We had planned to wait a bit longer, but given the fact that the baby definitely hadn’t come from the kid, neither of us was willing to let the kid kidnap a baby. We both know how babies in the League turn out. Let alone kids.”

Dick winced.

“Helena realized the baby shared similar features to Selina, and once I dropped the League assassins here for interrogation, Helena took the baby to Dr. Thompkins.”

“And what’s here that you think can take care of League Assassins?”

Jason didn’t answer. Instead, Faye Gunn II approached their table. She passed out two glasses of water to Kyle and Olive, then gave Jason and Dick what looked like alcohol, but smelled like Ginger Ale. Her smile seemed innocent at first glance, but held a borderline sharkness to it.

“Ma Gunn is alive?” Dick hissed.

“Alive and kicking,” Jason grinned. “My grandmother still has a fire to her, thank you very little.”

Dick seemed to short-circuit at that.

“Changing topics,” Jason stated before Dick could plow forward. “Helena’s a beast, but even she can’t take on assassins by herself. And seeing as how the kid who botched her own mission was Mara al Ghul, Ra’s will act soon. We’ll need to get to Dr. Thompkins’ Clinic and quickly.”

Beast Boy chose this moment to jump out of Kyle’s pocket and scurry out a cracked window. Jason paid the action no mind as he downed the Ginger Ale and left some cash on the table. Dick, Kyle, and Olive quickly followed him out.

“We will be talking about this,” Dick stated as they approached a rather nice-looking car.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Dickie,” Jason’s grin was almost sinister as they all clambered inside. “Now, everybody hold on. Ma said this car has a kick.”

Olive was barely buckled when Jason floored the gas.

\-------------------------------------

It was a bit too late for everyone to realize what had happened as Helena glared down Ra’s al Ghul himself. The man was clearly unhappy his granddaughter had been apprehended at all, let alone that he had failed his task. However, that didn’t mean she was going to back down.

“Interesting,” Ra’s commented as he studied her. “Does the detective know?”

“Do you honestly believe he doesn’t?” Helena deadpanned, clutching her new not-sister to her chest with one arm and pointing her crossbow at the man with the other.

“You may be his daughter, Huntress, but I doubt you lack the skill.”

Helena’s grin was sinister. “And that’s the problem with you in any universe, Ra’s. You have a bad habit of underestimating the other gender.”

Neither dared to move first. Ra’s waited, but Helena was patient. She had to be. When Dick lost the use of his legs, Helena had agreed to become Batman. There wasn’t another successor in their family to do so. But Helena had endured the loss of both her parents. She had suffered the loss of her planet. Helena had learned patience in her suffering, and she had learned to become a monster.

Fighting Ares was one thing. A thing Helena knew she wasn’t going to be able to match, but Ra’s was a thing all his own.

Ra’s charged first. Just like Helena wanted.

Protecting her not-sister provided a bit of a challenge, but it wasn’t the first time she had to protect a baby, and the fact that this was her not-sister just made her resolve firmer. Blow by blow, Helena blocked and matched. She wasn’t trying to kill Ra’s, not just yet. Not with Jason on his way.

Of course, Jason just had to be late to the party, and Helena knew she had to move quickly. So she took her chance. And launched her not-sister out the window. Ra’s stared in horror as Helena’s not-sister gave a cry as she sailed through the air. Only to be cushioned by clay.

Katherine Karlo, sitting on Damian’s shoulder, carefully pulled baby Helena back down to Earth and into the awaiting arms of her brother.

“Well played,” Ra’s stated. “But that will not save you.”

Helena had seen the files. Had seen how Ra’s liked to take care of his enemies. He wasn’t too different from the Ra’s al Ghul of her own world. So when Ra’s made his final strike, Helena expertly parried.

“No,” Helena stated back. “You’re right, it wouldn’t have saved me. Good thing I have the skills, then.”

Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Jason Todd were all on pare with Ra’s al Ghul. Helena knew that well. What Ra’s didn’t know, and what he had continually failed to believe, was that a girl could easily outclass a man. And Helena had long since surpassed her father’s skill.

Blow after blow, strike after strike, Helena and Ra’s were both out for blood in the Clinic. She would need to apologize to Leslie later, but that didn’t matter now. What mattered was stopping Ra’s.

So kicking Ra’s out a window was beyond satisfying.

“Don’t touch my family,” Helena hissed to the air as Ra’s landed on the dumpster outside the clinic.

\--------------------------------

Bruce was sat at Selina’s bedside, their daughter in his arms as he rocked her back and forth. Damian was fast asleep upstairs with his friends squishing him in. Dick, Batwoman, Batgirl, Black Bat, Red Robin, and Spoiler were in charge of patrol. The heroes had all dispersed quickly after Damian brought Helena home and everyone got a chance to meet her. The fight that had followed had only halted when Helena kicked Ra’s out the clinic window (for which Bruce was paying for damages). Unfortunately, Mara al Ghul had escaped and she had rescued her grandfather with a handful of assassins.

It had been a long day, and Helena found she couldn’t sleep.

“Thank you,” Bruce suddenly appeared at her side.

“No need,” Helena waved off. “She deserves to have a good life. I just hope Selina wakes up soon enough to meet her daughter.”

“She’s strong,” Bruce commented. “But you already knew that.”

Helena grinned. “She’s always been one of the best things that happened to you.”

A chuckle from Bruce followed by silence. A comfortable one. Jason being home had clearly done wonders for Bruce, though the man was never going to admit it. Helena watched as Bruce gently brushed hair from Jason’s face where he slept with his head at Helena’s side. Then he reached down to squeeze Helena’s hand.

“I’m glad you’re here, Helena,” Bruce stated.

Helena…wasn’t sure if that was meant for her or her not-sister, because Bruce had turned away. Helena found she wouldn’t mind if he was speaking to both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kitten will be a reoccuring nickname through the series, and yes, Bruce does know that the Helena before him is not Helena Bertinelli, but rather Helena Wayne. His other world daughter. 
> 
> Selina's future is still up in the air, and we'll see what happens!
> 
> Ma Gunn and Faye Gunn II will also have big roles in the future. As will Ra's and Mara.
> 
> In case you didn't see my first note, I will be taking a break as I have writers block. I know where I want the story to go, but everything that I write down doesn't come out right. It's a weird version of sub writers block that I get sometimes. If we're lucky, I may post a few stories outside this series but we'll see how far my writers block spreads. Rawr. 
> 
> The next book is actually written, but it needs serious editing and writers block sucks, so I'll post that once I get over this funk. That's what I'll call it. I'm in a funk.


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